the Seneca: Edition Zero

The Seneca is the first in my ready-to-type line keyboards, monomaniacally built from the ground up entirely out of bespoke Norbauer components.

Joy, Nostalgia, and Magic

The product of years of obsessive research and engineering, patented innovations, and a long history of engagement deep within the enthusiast community, the Seneca reexamines every assumption in the making of a commercial keyboard. Sparing no expense, I've designed every corner of the Seneca in ways that no mass-market electronics product ever would. Every choice has been made to optimize for joy, nostalgia, and magic.

I built the Seneca not because technical perfection for its own sake is what I care about, but because I feel this is the only way for a keyboard to be worthy of the optimistic dreams about technology and the future that make these devices meaningful.

Edition Zero Details

This small initial offering of around fifty units is exclusive to existing Norbauer clients. Each unit will be individually numbered and will be issued a private credential key as part of our new authenticity verification system. Each unit will be assembled by hand here in California—either by me personally or under my direct supervision.

Plasma ceramic and titanium finishes

Edition Zero is offered in three aluminum finishes (Oxide Gray, Travertine, and Heatshield), along with a lavish Veracity Titanium option. All switch plates are thick solid brass, with an electrodeposited matte silver chrome finish.

The aluminum housings are finished in plasma ceramic, an oxidation process that uses intense heat and pressure generated by a storm of rapid high-energy micro-arcs, which forms an advanced ceramic coating on the substrate. The result is a smooth matte finish of extraordinary durability and cosmetic uniformity, unlike anything we have offered before.

Oxide Gray is a very light gray finish, the essence of retrofuturist space-age purity.

Travertine calls back to Ancient Rome and the Stoic philosopher namesake of the project. It is a warm gray that has a very fine stochastic micro-pattern of alternating light and dark areas resulting from the energy discharges. Although this pattern gives the appearance of a texture like natural stone, it is perfectly smooth to the touch.

Heatshield is a deep matte black.

Veracity Titanium is raw uncoated titanium with a blasted surface, for those who love honest and exotic materials—and can Stoically embrace visible fingerprints.

Retro keycaps, Made in Germany

Edition Zero ships with a special version of the R&D 1973 keycap set, which is designed subtly to evoke the aesthetics of the first personal computers. R&D 1973 is one of the first high-end sets to be produced in double-shot PBT, a material that is relatively challenging to mold but has markedly superior durability and acoustics compared to ABS resins. It is molded in the low sculpted retro profile known as MTNU, manufactured by GMK in Germany. The two pink accent keys can be swapped out to match the rest of the dark gray modifiers for those who prefer a more monochrome look.

Optional add-ons (sold separately)

Walnut Riser ($180)

The Seneca is designed for ergonomic use without an incline angle. However, for those who are accustomed to and prefer a typing angle (or even a reverse typing angle), the Seneca Walnut Riser is available as an optional add-on. CNC machined from solid walnut, it imparts a 3° (or -3°) pitch.

Switch lubing service ($160)

The Seneca has been expressly engineered and toleranced for satisfying acoustic and tactile performance without switch lubrication; this was one of our principal design objectives. However, there is a particular muted sound and feel that comes from thin-film coating of switch slider rails, which can only be achieved with a fluidic lubricant. I want to stress that this is not necessarily superior but is a subjective preference, and it comes with the downside of requiring maintenance over time (refreshing the lubricant). But for those who prefer this typing style, we offer a switch lubing service. Currently this can only be purchased with a new Seneca build, but we plan to offer a maintenance/refresh service starting next year.

Prototype typing tests

The following two videos give a sense of the creative direction of the Seneca’s acoustics. These samples are built from a mix of prototype and production parts, and the final parts will enjoy significantly tighter tolerances, especially for the stabilizer and switch components. However, I believe you may share my observation that, even with these rough prototype parts, the current (already good) tolerances, improved kinematics, materials, and very light slider dampening make the switches sound almost like a hand-lubed Topre board, but without any lube. On the actual production units, this effect should be even more manifest. A stock (unlubed) Seneca has a relatively clacky/thocky—and more vintage—sound, as follows.

Of course, the lubing service is also available. I would describe a lubed Seneca as having more of a more quiet and “buttery” acoustic signature. Here is what that sounds like.

Engineered from First Principles

The ready-to-type line is my (admittedly subjective) expression of the perfect typing experience, constrained only by the ANSI standard and the laws of physics. In curating and creating that experience—and guided by decades of collective wisdom in the keyboard enthusiast community—I first decided what was an optimal end state and then worked backwards from that to figure out how to manifest it within the bounds mechanics and real-world manufacturing.

Minimal play between parts, kinematically optimized and at the bleeding edge of thermoplastic tolerances

Our earliest experiments in creating our own switch taught us that the size of gaps between mating faces of moving parts are a major contributor to the perception of switch quality. Lots of slop or play between parts gives a sense of looseness or “wobble.”

This is why we have invested so much in finding and forging relationships with manufacturing partners that can hold the very challenging, and thus expensive, International Tolerance Grade 10 (or better) level of precision that we have decided to specify for our injection molded parts—tolerances that are then verified through an independent third-party inspection firm using 3D computed tomography (CT) scans.

Narrow gaps and tight fits of this kind, however, can frequently introduce binding into mechanical systems if the assembly has not been kinematically optimized. This is why our switches look so different from other capacitive sensing keyboards. Norbauer-type switches and stabilizers have both been designed from the ground up to optimize kinematic freedoms and to work together as a harmonious system. The corresponding elimination of overconstraints and tolerance ambiguities makes tighter gaps possible without the risk of binding. (For a deeper technical dive into these concepts, you can read my stabilizer design journal here.)

The result is very tight, smooth, on-axis key travel and gaps between components as small as injection molding can reasonably achieve.

The Norbauer-type stabilizer: worthy of a watchmaker

Our long-key stabilizers, subject of multiple patents issued and pending, are the first to perform rattle-free without also requiring the (problematic but prevalent) use of high-viscoscity lubricant to dissipate sound. They solve the problem of optimizing a linear bearing for sound and feel within a highly constrained sliding envelope by projecting its travel into three-dimensional space, using an intricate folding mehcanism to effectively increase the length of the slide. The use of precision-ground pins further allows for effectively zero clearance between parts and superb acoustic performance without sound-dissipating grease.

These and many aspects of the the Norbauer-type stabilizer make them radically different from any that has come before. To learn more, check out my talk at KeyCon 2024.

The Aerostem: compliant keycap retention technology

Our force curve tests on existing Cherry-MX compatible keycap stems showed unusual behavior of the standard cruciform mounts popular in the enthusiast world. Most of these stems use "crush ribs" to dig into the keycap interior walls, scratching permanent furrows into the keycap resin that are visible under a microscope. Repeated insertions and removals alone can thus cause the retention curves to change over time as repeated erosion and abrasion of the walls occurs, initially requiring excessive force to remove and then eventually dropping over time. Cruciform stems are also typically quite rigid, causing the inevitable plastic relaxation that occurs under load to be shifted primarily to the keycap stem rather than reside in the switch, which can lead to a variable sense of retention quality between keycap sets, as new keycaps must be gradually deformed by the relatively rigid stems. This approach works adequately and has served the enthusiast community well up to this point, but we felt that there must be a better and more predictable/controllable method of keycap retention—one that would also be gentler on the keycaps.

Our view is that quality in keycap retention has a binary threshold: either the keycap stays in place or it doesn't. More force is not necessarily better, as the violent force of removing high-retention caps sends parts flying across the room and can further deform the stems, especially with off-axis removals. The optimal retention force is thus the lowest possible force that remains always above the binary threshold (after the universal phenomenon of plastic relaxation over time is accounted for). This means low-effort keycap removals and insertions, more consistency across both time and keycap sets, and less deformation of the keycaps themselves.

Our patent-pending Aerostem geometry uses compliant "wings" that flex under load to retain the keycap in place. Through finite element analysis (FEA), many rounds of injection molded protototypes, and lots of empiritical testing/tinkering, we have come up with a stem that maximizes stem performance for the princples outlined above, settling down after plastic relaxation to around a comfortable 3 Newtons of removal force. This is just enough to feel secure and intentional without requiring any unnecessary force beyond that level. The result is a satisfying, consistent, and low-friction experience when changing keycaps, with minimal assault to the caps themselves.

Dampening at every turn

The Norbauer acoustic design philosophy is all about dampening: thick, rigid, and dense core machined acoustic-dampening elements (such as a solid brass switch plate) mediated by soft acoustic- and vibration-dampening interface layers at their mating faces. Compliant rubber domes and dampening rings in the switches themselves further dampen vibrations on the downstroke and upstroke respectively. All this combined with the ability to create larger switches and simpler mechanics—by virtue of capacitive sensing—allows for a soft typing feel and characteristic thocky/clacky sound.

In a sense, this is the opposite of the typical approach seen in Cherry-MX based boards, which tend to get their dampening from more flexible core elements—such as plates with relief cuts—but with rigid switch components. The location of rigid versus dampening elements is a subjective choice, but I believe that the Seneca approach is an essential part of what makes the capacitive typing experience so compelling and luxurious.

Gaskets everywhere

In keeping with the dampening philosophy, planar interfaces between hard parts in the Seneca are gasketed with high-tech foams or rubbers, from the various machined plates right down to each individual switch. Our innovative use of precision end-stops for interference on large gaskets allows for repeatable and accurate rigid assemblies while also providing total isolation from sound leaks.

Coil dampening

The Seneca ships with a special interstitial dampening layer between its helical capacitive coils and PCB, mitigating the unpleasant "crunch" sound heard in legacy capacitive keyboards as the two parts contact each other at the end of the switch stroke.

Switch isolation

Our switches are held fully under elastomeric preload between the switch plate and PCB by their silicone domes and gaskets, dampening any vertical play between hard surfaces of the switch housings and those parts that may occur during typing.

CNC everything

Fabricating parts using sheet metal techniques is often an order of magnitude less expensive than CNC machining a part out of a solid billet, but (especially when the parts have threads, standoffs, and other mission-critical features), this often comes at the cost of precision. Given the design objective of switch isolation described above, we required more spacing precision between switch plate and PCB than any other capacitive keyboard, so we decided to take the path of CNC milling the switch plate out of a large and heavy block of solid brass. Although astronomically more expensive, this strategy brings us several other benefits: of particular note, the ability to make a much thicker (and more acoustically absorptive) switch plate, precision alignment of switch housings in the plate, and precision locating features between plate and housing (ensuring a consistent gap around all sides and preventing any possibility of lateral collisions between the parts before they'e fastened). We found these benefits so compelling that we also extended them to the rear cover plate on the aluminum housings, making the Seneca the first Norbauer keyboard to be made entirely without sheet metal parts.

Full galvanic isolation

In addition to traditional safety measures, the Seneca employs a special galvanic isolation chip, which alone costs more than many entire keyboard PCBs. This "air gap" technology allows for complete electrical isolation of the keyboard and its components from the rest of the computer to which it is connected, preventing surges of current from the USB-C bus from making their way into the keyboard.

Custom cables with positive-lock connectors, manufactured by Lemo in Switzerland

The Seneca uses a Lemo connection system at the keyboard connection point. Lemo connectors are precision metal assemblies (traditionally used in high demand avionics and medical applications), which satisfyingly click into place to form a positive lock that prevents accidental disconnection. Our custom cables come with USB-C at the distal end for wide compatibility with contemporary computing devices, overmolded with a strain relief in our own custom retrofuturist design.

The nominal length of each cable from the keyboard (not including the coil, when it exists) is 1.5m long.

Bespoke firmware with DFU

Most enthusiast keyboards take a dependency on open-source firmware projects. We fully support those projects, but they have a reputation for being somewhat unstable, complex, and prone to bugs. Proceeding from the assumption that a keyboard is mission-critical hardware for knowledge workers—and that regular crashes are therefore unacceptable—we developed our own from-scratch firmware with the absolute minimum possible complexity (which is to say, the fewest possible points of failure).

High-performance signal processing

Although our focus has never been on gaming (the Seneca is made primarily for people who build and think for a living), our custom-built tech platform nevertheless accommodates users who care about raw performance, with a matrix polling time of <1ms and full N-key rollover at the PCB. We developed our own distinct interrupt-based matrix polling architecture and algorithm to—among other things—facilitate this fast signal detection speed.

At home on Mac, Linux, and Windows

Rare among enthusiast keyboards, the Seneca supports a Mac mode right out of the box, which reconfigures the modfier keys to align with macOS positions without having to do any key repapping in the OS.

Nostalgic boot-up tone

The gentle ”boot-up tone” of the board echoes the sound and excitement of firing up a vintage computer. The PCB uses different tones for macOS and Windows/Linux modes, along with an option to turn the sound off entirely.

Low-friction firmware updating subsystem

Should any new features or bugfixes be released in future, our robust Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) mechanism allows for simple firmware updates without having to worry about flashing firmware yourself or installing any special software on your computer. With a special keypress at boot, the keyboard simply mounts itself as a USB storage device onto which an an update file can be copied as it if were on your local file system, and then the firmware will restart itself with the latest version.

No visible structural fasteners or seams

Expanding on the signature Norbauer design approach of relocating the assembly seam to the rear face of the keyboard (which is hidden during normal use), the Seneca further adds an internal gantry system that allows for zero visible structural fasteners on all faces of the assembled keyboard. The only visible screws are the intentionally cosmetic/decorative ones holding the name plate in place on the rear of the board.

Offering notes

This is the very first production of our first ready-to-type product, meaning that we're not just manufacturing the units themselves but also all the production tooling, molds, and fixtures. In exchange for early access to this limited first offering, Edition Zero therefore requires a bit of faith and patience. Some manufacturing or technical details may change, as I discover new ways of improving the product during production. I do promise, however, that the boards will ship with at least one or two very welcome surprises. 😊

While we're aiming to ship before the end of the year, the shipping schedule is truly a guess. As I have always done, though, I'll be working hard to ensure that clients end up with something they love.

Please note that the rear cover plate may arrive in matching plasma oxidized aluminum or powder-coated steel; we are currently conducting acoustic tests to decide which gives the best balance of acoustics and visual aesthetics. Titanium housings come with a matching titanium rear cover plate.